Jinder

When I was recording a few years ago at RAK in St. John's Wood, I had the privilege of playing the late Mickie Most's '60s J200 which Jimmy Page used to double-track various acoustic parts on IV, including the fast-paced acoustic-heavy section of Stairway. That guitar was amazing-it sounded unspeakably beautiful, tune-o-matic and all.

I had a '97 Early J45. Yup, 1 3/4" nut, light as a FEATHER (I've never played a lighter dread), amazing player and it sounded sublime. The best post-'50s J45 I've ever played, it was exquisite. I sold it to Sitric, a forumer, when I was in dire financial need...he bought it for his nephew or cousin as I recall, who loved it. If you get the chance to lay your hands on an Early, I say go for it, they're unbefreakinglievable.

On both my former Birds, the only strings that ever sounded "right" were D'Addario EJ16 12-53 PBs. Ironically, my L-00 hates them, my AJ virtually spat off the set I tried, my Epi EJ200 sounds tinny with them, my former SJ200 didn't like 'em...must be a Hog thing. My former '94 "Early" J45 sounded gargantuan with EJ16s. Maybe it really is a Hog thing!

Red, I think your Maple SS AJ may be the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen in my life. What a stunner! I bet she sounds even better than she looks, too.

I played a short-scale Maple AJ in Rudy's in Manhattan back in 2006...it was stupendously good. Two years later I found a Custom Shop Maple J45 in GuitarGuitar in Glasgow, and there it was again-that gorgeous Maple slope tone. Maybe the AJ was slightly louder, but both sounded out of this world. I'm sure the shorty RW AJ is just as sweet :-)

Does your label say "Early J45"? If so, that's what you've got! Kind of a proto-TV model from '94 and '95, not hugely common but a brilliant guitar. I owned a '94 a few years back, and it was stunning. Incredibly light, and the best sounding J45 I've ever played. When times were tight I VERY reluctantly parted with it-I sold it to a forumer here, actually! If it's an "Early...", keep it-they're superb.

Here is what I use: Acoustics & Archtops: Martin PB 12-54s My 118yr old Lyon & Healy Parlour: Martin Silk & Steels Electrics: Ernie Ball 11s (for Teles, Strats etc) or Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms (for Les Pauls) Classical: Dell'Arte Hard Tension Coated strings are great, but my problem is I play hard with a heavy pick, so tend to break strings before they lose tone...so, as you can imagine, I don't get the benefit from coated strings that others do...having said that, I'll slap a set of Elixirs on my Kalamazoo archtop next time I change strings, as that one gets played more gently and less frequently than my others. I'm intrigued to try those Newtone Heritage strings on my old Lyon & Healy, I reckon that could be a nice compromise between Silk & Steel and my normal strings...

I love these guitars. However, they don't sound "like a Gibson" to my ears whatsoever...a completely different beast entirely, but one that I'd love to own. I'm not fussed on the MK35 (the Mahogany one) but the Maple MK53 or Rosewood MK72 are definitely appealing. Kasha and Schneider were onto something, and apparently their early prototypes are among the best sounding acoustic you'll find, but the bracing system was a delicate beast and, as was the Gibson way in the '70s, the company overbuilt the delicate bracing system to avoid warranty backlash. As such the MKs don't sound exactly as Kasha and Schneider intended, and don't sound like a classic, thumpy, woody Gibson. They do, however, have an entire vibe of their own...which I really dig.

An acquaintance of mine, Alyssa Bonagura, plays an incredible Jr., Brazilian back and sides and what looks to me like an Adi top, which was custom made for her mother, Kathy Bailie, back in the early '90s. The thing sounds utterly mesmerising...like dewdrops falling from diamonds. Next time I see her, I'm going to try to trade her the entirety of the UK for it.

Mark Lee, you always make me chuckle. Firstly, Gibson truss rods are adjusted using a 5/16" SOCKET, and secondly a phosphor bronze Allen Key would be about as much use as a chocolate fireguard-it'd be way too soft. In fact, I've never hear of Phos.Bronze being used for any kind of toolmaking (before I went full-time with music I was an industrial toolmaker in the Aerospace industry, and it was certainly never used there, or in the automotive sector, in which my Dad was a development engineer) KSDaddy is a highly skilled and experienced professional luthier, and he was cross-questioning you because you were/are offering homespun advice about something that, if executed wrongly, could seriously damage someone's guitar. Many people come to these forums for advice, and I would say that if you can't give it in a constructive way, with cogency and experience, then the best course of action is just to keep quiet. Just my .02, of course.

Max, right down to the machineheads your Hummer looks the doppelganger of an early '70s Kiso Suzuki Hummingbird I owned a few years back...I technically till own it, but it's on permanent loan to a good friend now. The adj. bridge looks identical, the trussrod cover etc...mine had a fine gold tranfer logo on the headstock that read "Kiso Suzuki Violin Company" and was formatted to look very similar to the Martin logo. Tone-wise, it was a KILLER guitar. My Gibson 'bird is better, but not by a huge margin. It was a real gem.

I remember-yours was a Koa '200 that went back for a warranty repair and was damaged in the repair shop, am I right? Looks like the replacement is "the goods" though...that pickguard is jaw-droppingly pretty. I'm glad that the tale ended happily!

I VERY nearly bought a Tobacco Burst J185EC a couple of years ago...it looked incredible, and had great tone, but there was something seriously wrong with the intonation...I would tune it up, and an E, A or D chord would sound lovely, then a G, C, Am or Bm would sound like a piano falling out of a window. Very strange. I passed it up in the end. I'm sure it was just one bad apple, though.

Oh my good god, those are some beautiful SJ200s! Jchabalk, was that pickguard a special order? Matt, you can't go wrong with a Dove. Are you going Gibson or Epi? I owned one alongside my Hummingbird and SJ200 for a while, and it was a sweeeeeet combo. Each guitar filled in the gaps that the others left. I love how different Doves are. Such an alternative looking instrument. I love my Hummingbird, but they are a very popular guitar, whereas the Dove is that wee bit more cliquey and cool.

The criteria are, for me, like it says on the old Gibson cases, "tone, feel and appearance"!

My Hummer (well, the Hummer I have on loan after I sold it) and SJ200 are fantastic, but I have played some splendid Doves recently, there's just something so usable about that big ol' tone and long scale, plus they look so delicious. I had one, which my band got as part of our endorsement deal, but in the band context it suited my bandmate's parts more, so I now use the Hummingbird and SJ200. I miss the Dove though, and would love to have another one for my solo work. Such a fun guitar to play, too. Perhaps not as subtle and gentle as the Hummingbird, but bigger and more goodtime-y. If they were ladies (or men, depending on your preference), you'd have a poster of the Hummingbird on your bedroom wall, but you'd marry the Dove. I should mention at this point that I really haven't had enough sleep!

Just for fun...what's your desert-island bling machine?